Parker’s career has been marked by steady, consistent improvement, from rookie starter, to budding young standout, to All-Star, to franchise torch bearer, to his current place among the elite of the elite as possibly the best point guard in the NBA — and by definition, the world.

Lofty, and hugely debatable, stuff. But it became apparent around midseason, in the midst of perhaps the best three-month stretch of his career, that Parker had reached his apex — still young enough to bring his speed and quickness to bear, but also polished and experienced enough to deserve the rank of true floor general.

In a league ruled by LeBron James, the MVP talk was a bit overblown. Otherwise, you’d be hard-pressed to find another player who had a bigger impact on his team’s fortunes. When Parker scored 20 points or more, the Spurs were 46-8 this season. When he dished out at least 10 assists, they were 18-1. When he did both, they were a perfect 13-0.

Parker, despite a middling reputation, had a significant impact on defense as well. The Spurs’ defensive rating dropped by almost two points per 100 possessions when he played, while opponents made roughly one third of their 3-point shots.

It wasn’t all sunshine, however. While frequently outstanding, Parker was never as consistent after spraining his ankle in early March. It culminated with a difficult Finals in which, hampered by a hamstring strain, he had only truly great in one game (26 points on 10-for-14 shooting in Game 5) before missing 26 of 35 shots over the last two contests.

Not coincidentally, the Spurs lost both as they blew a 3-2 lead. It’s a measure of their depth and team structure that they could have won both. Indeed, in the case of Game 6, they should have. But it was also the latest example of Parker’s troubling tendency to underwhelm in big moments.

While that might knock him down a few rungs in the individual rankings, this much remains indisputable: The Spurs couldn’t ask for a better trigger man to run their spread pick-and-roll offense.